Overview
- New guides highlight handwritten notes in meetings as a tool that forces selection and synthesis, which keeps people engaged and helps them remember what was said.
- A small Norwegian study in Frontiers in Psychology with 36 students found richer brain connectivity during handwriting than during typing, with lead author Audrey van der Meer linking the effect to learning.
- Paper calendars and notebooks cut digital pull by removing alerts and open tabs, which reduces stress and supports clear planning by putting tasks in plain view.
- Practical advice centers on a hybrid workflow that uses paper for deep thinking and planning, then captures key points digitally for speed, sharing, and later search.
- The evidence base is still limited and often cited secondhand, yet interest is rising as heavy screen use grows; related work on expressive writing also ties paper journaling to lower anxiety through offloading worries onto the page.